Edwin Tornberg; Radio Station Owner Pioneered Multilingual Broadcasting

Edwin Tornberg, 82, owner of a Washington area broadcasting company that provides multilingual programming for ethnic communities in Washington and Philadelphia, died of pulmonary fibrosis May 23 at his home in Potomac.

For the past 15 years, Mr. Tornberg served as chairman of New World Radio, which owns and operates radio stations WUST (1120 AM) in Washington, WBIS (1190 AM) in Annapolis, WAGE (1200 AM) in Leesburg and WNWR (1540 AM) in Philadelphia.

"Mr. Tornberg was regarded as something of a pioneer in the Washington radio-TV market," said his business partner, James Weitzman. "He went against conventional wisdom in 1992 by founding Washington's first and only exclusively multicultural broadcast station, WUST."

The station broadcasts programs, many of them local, in about a dozen different languages for the Washington area's diverse population of diplomats, international civil servants and immigrants.

Three years after launching WUST, Mr. Tornberg bought WNWR, a 50,000-watt station in Philadelphia that he converted to multilingual broadcasting.

Mr. Tornberg, who had worked in telecommunications since 1960, was a pragmatic man who learned about the business in "the school of hard knocks," his partner said.

"His attitude was take what was in front of you and deal with it, and never obsess over things not in your control," Weitzman said.

Edwin Joshua Tornberg was born in Plainfield, N.J., and grew up in New Jersey and New York. He attended Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., and served in the Army.

He started in business brokerage and consulting in 1954 and formed Edwin Tornberg and Co. five years later. His company, which specialized in brokerage, consulting and appraisal work for the banking, broadcasting and cable television industries, was based in New York for 17 years. Its clients included Bankers Trust, Bank of New York and the New York Times Co.

Mr. Tornberg previously owned radio stations in Virginia, California, Kentucky, Oregon and Indiana and cable television systems throughout the Western United States. They were sold to Telecommunications Inc.

He recently retired as a director of Citizens Communications Co. of Stamford, Conn. Mr. Tornberg, who enjoyed working with his hands, could take apart and put together a radio. He was skilled in woodworking and built many items for his children and grandchildren.

His marriage to Shirley Tornberg ended in divorce. His second wife, Chi-Chi Tornberg, died in 1992.

A son from his first marriage, Gary Tornberg, also died in 1992.

Survivors include his wife, Ina Smith Tornberg of Potomac and Stuart, Fla.; a son from his first marriage, Donald Tornberg of Shelby Township, Mich.; two stepchildren from his second marriage, Alan Hahn of Fairfax County and Alexandra Chesterton of Providence R.I.; three stepchildren from his third marriage, Ronald Smith of Potomac, Martin Smith of Arlington and Lawrence Smith of Arlington; a brother; five step-grandchildren; and two step-great-grandchildren.